Psalm 27
Psalm 27:1-14 The Lord is my light and my salvation — whom shall I fear? The Lord is the stronghold of my life — of whom shall I be afraid? When evil men advance against me to devour my flesh, when my enemies and my foes attack me, they will stumble and fall. Though an army besiege me, my heart will not fear; though war break out against me, even then will I be confident. One thing I ask of the Lord, this is what I seek: that I may dwell in the house of the Lord all the days of my life, to gaze upon the beauty of the Lord and to seek him in his temple. For in the day of trouble he will keep me safe in his dwelling; he will hide me in the shelter of his tabernacle and set me high upon a rock. Then my head will be exalted above the enemies who surround me; at his tabernacle will I sacrifice with shouts of joy; I will sing and make music to the Lord. Hear my voice when I call, O Lord; be merciful to me and answer me. My heart says of you, “Seek his face!” Your face, Lord, I will seek. Do not hide your face from me, do not turn your servant away in anger; you have been my helper. Do not reject me or forsake me, O God my Savior. Though my father and mother forsake me, the Lord will receive me. Teach me your way, O Lord; lead me in a straight path because of my oppressors. Do not turn me over to the desire of my foes, for false witnesses rise up against me, breathing out violence. I am still confident of this: I will see the goodness of the Lord in the land of the living. Wait for the Lord;
be strong and take heart and wait for the Lord.
With this Psalm of David the occasion on which it was composed is unknown. There is no hint of this in the title, and there is nothing within the body of the psalm which would enable us to determine this. There were numerous occasions in the life of David when all that is expressed in the psalm might have been said by him, just as there are many occasions, in the lives of all of us, to which the sentiments of the psalm would be appropriate.
The Septuagint version has the title, “A Psalm of David Before His Anointing,” but there are several opinions concerning which anointing it was. Grotius supposes the occasion to have been the anointing in Hebron when he was first inaugurated king (2 Samuel 2:4). Rosenmuller suggests that it was the last anointing (2 Samuel 5:3). Many of the Jewish expositors assign the psalm to the last days of David when he was delivered from death by the intervention of Abishai (2 Samuel 21:16-17). But there is no evidence within the psalm that it was composed on any of these occasions, and it is now impossible to ascertain the time or the circumstances of its composition.
The general objective of the psalm is to excite in others confidence in God from the experience which the psalmist had of His merciful intercession in times of trouble and danger (v. 14). The author of the psalm had had some striking evidence of the divine favor and protection in times of peril and sorrow (v. 1), and he makes use of his experiences throughout the psalm to lead others to trust in God in similar circumstances. It may have been that at the time of composing the psalm he was still surrounded by enemies, and exposed to danger; but if that’s the case, he expresses the utmost confidence in God, and gratefully refers to His past intersessions on his behalf in similar circumstances as full proof that all would turn out well, and that God would bless him.
The contents of the psalm are:
1. An expression of confidence in God, which was derived from his personal experience of His merciful intervention in times of danger, (Vs. 1-3). He had been in peril at some time in his life, which is not specified, and had been rescued; and from this gracious intervention, he reasons that it would always be safe to trust in God.
2. The expression of a desire to dwell always where God is; to see His beauty there; to learn more about Him; to offer sacrifices, and to praise Him (vs. 4-6). The psalmist had seen so much of God that he desired to see much more; he had experienced so much of his wonderful favor that he wished to always be with Him; he had found so much happiness in God that he believed that all his future happiness was to be found in His presence and in His service.
3. A solemn prayer that God would hear him; that He would grant his requests; that He would save him from all his enemies; that He would lead him along the right path (vs. 7-12). This is based partly on his own past experience, that when God had commanded him to seek His face he had obeyed (v. 8), and it is connected with the fullest assurance that God would protect him, even if he would be forsaken by his father and mother (v. 10).
4. The conclusion—the appeal to wait on the Lord (vs. 13-14). This request is derived from his own experience. He says that he himself would have fainted if he had not confided in God and hoped in His mercy when there was no other hope (v. 13); and, in view of that experience, he encourages all others to put their trust in Him (v. 14).
PRAY
Father help me to keep my heart focused on you in every situation I encounter.